Protecting productive rural land from urban sprawl is one of the aims of a future proofing strategy launched in Waikato on Wednesday.
The strategy is designed to manage growth in the city of Hamilton and in the Waikato and Waipa districts, where the population is projected to almost double in the next 50 years.
Recommendations include increasing housing density in existing residential areas and tightening controls over rural residential development to protect farm land.
The strategy also calls for the development of a high-tech innovation precinct at Ruakura, on the outskirts of Hamilton, and the country's biggest agricultural research campus.
